How to understand yourself and how to manage conflicts with your parents and other people when you are in your teens? That is the topic of the session that caters for 8th and 9th grade pupils. I took the opportunity to participate in such sessions provided by three lectors within the project called Healthy Youth: Pavel Slepicka, Petra Stranska and Karla Mihatschova.
It is not always easy to give lectures to this age group. However, all three lectors handled the communication with the teenagers without any difficulties. The lectors do not tell the teenagers what to do. They have a discussion with them and the lecture is more like a session. The listeners are divided into groups several times and their task is to talk about practical situations (your mum comes home and gets angry at you for not washing the dishes etc.). To my surprise, the groups of “almost-adults” become quiet and join the discussion. They do not talk about a theory, they talk about life. The groups express their opinions and tell the others what they concluded.
The lectors have to face a difficult task: they need to show the teenagers the kind of values they need to hold and the attitudes to life they need to take in this difficult period of life full of emotions and obstacles. They are willing to listen to the pupils’ opinions and positively comment on them. The lectures always turn into a great experience and I believe they have a positive influence on the pupils. Me and the three lectors mentioned above are leaving the class with a sense of satisfaction, however, it was not easy at all.
Young people are often able to express their gratitude. No wonder the lectors are being highly acclaimed by educationists again. They did a very good job with the lectures.
Petr Horacek, the Executive Director of INCZ
